Trick or Treat (1986) DEG/Horror RT: 98 minutes Rated R (violence, language, nudity, sexual content) Director: Charles Martin Smith Screenplay: Michael S. Murphey, Joel Soisson and Rhet Topham Music: Christopher Young Cinematography: Robert Elswit Release date: October 24, 1986 (US) Cast: Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini, Doug Savant, Elaine Joyce, Glen Morgan, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Elise Richards, Richard Pachorek, Clare Torao, Alice Nunn, Larry Sprinkle, Charles Martin Smith. Box Office: $6.7M (US)
Rating: **
Two of the best things about the 80s were horror movies and heavy metal; I think we can all agree on this. If you were there, you must remember the “Satanic Panic” in which metal was attacked by members of the moral right on the grounds that it condoned devil worship. It led to Senate hearings and labels being put on records containing explicit lyrics. That must have been the starting point for the creation of Trick or Treat, a horror movie that merges the occult with heavy metal to tell the story of a bullied teen taking revenge against his tormentors on the advice of his idol, a rock star who recently died in a ritualistic fire. It’s one of those from beyond the grave deals. It starts off pretty great then makes a wrong turn from which it never recovers.
Eddie (Price, Family Ties) worships at the altar of Sammi Curr (Fields, A Chorus Line), an infamous metal rocker who attended the same high school as him. Eddie sees him as a hero who understands what he’s going through at school. He’s constantly picked on and terrorized by a gang of preppie jocks led by Tim (Savant, Melrose Place). Eddie is devastated when he hears the news that Curr died in a mysterious fire at a hotel. His friend, local radio personality DJ Nuke (Simmons of KISS), sees how distraught the teen is and gives him a special memento, the only copy of Curr’s last (and as-yet unreleased) album.
When Eddie plays the album entitled Songs in the Key of Death*, he’s shocked to discover it contains a hidden message when played backwards. In fact, it appears as though Curr is speaking directly to him. He basically encourages Eddie to strike back at the jocks. It starts off harmless enough, but quickly turns sinister when Tim is nearly killed by a lathe in the school’s wood shop. Then his girlfriend (Richards, Valet Girl) ends up in the hospital after listening to a recording of the album meant for him. This is when Trick or Treat makes that wrong turn and starts to fall apart.
At this point, awesome things could have happened like Eddie continuing his campaign of revenge at the expense of his mortal soul and sanity while his best friend Roger (Morgan, the director of the 2006 Black Christmas remake) looks for a way to stop him. Instead, Eddie wimps out after the tape misfire only for Curr to take matters into his own hands after his resurrection. Eddie spends the rest of the movie trying to stop Curr. While there are a couple of cool scenes, like the Halloween dance where Curr literally steals the show from the band hired to perform, the last half tends to drag on until it limps to its weak conclusion.
It’s a shame that Trick or Treat turns out like it does because it has a strong premise and some interesting ideas spread throughout. For instance, Ozzy Osbourne’s cameo as an anti-rock evangelist is a stroke of genius. It’s but a mere hint of first-time director Charles Martin Smith’s wicked sense of humor. Why not use it to make a point about the Satanic Panic and the idiocy of those leading the charge? He barely touches on it except for a few interview excerpts on TV. Other things, like the monster that attacks Tim’s girlfriend, go unexplained. That’s actually the fault of the writers and their half-assed script that fails to develop its more interesting ideas in favor of a cliché-ridden teen horror scenario.
In ’86, Price was best known for playing goofy dork next door Skippy on the sitcom Family Ties. He’s sadly miscast as a metalhead in Trick or Treat. I knew metalheads growing up and they weren’t like Eddie. He’s just too much of a wimp. Fields, on the other hand, does pretty good work as Sammi Curr. He really looks the part of a heavy metal rock star. Lisa Orgolini (Born to Ride), as a girl Eddie likes, is rather wooden. Savant is believable as a conceited preppie a**hole.
My biggest gripe about Trick or Treat is that there’s no gore. People get killed. Students at the dance vaporize after being zapped by lightning bolts from Curr’s guitar. A head explodes but all we see are sparks. The point of the lathe’s tail-stock doesn’t even make contact with Tim’s head. WTH? What good is an R-rated horror movie without copious amounts of blood? It’s the biggest cheat of all.
What’s sad is that I remember liking Trick or Treat when it first came out. True to form, I was there opening night at the Barclay Square Theater (with my childhood pal John). I guess the fact that it was nearly a full house made it seem more fun than it actually is. This is one of those rare times I’m in favor of a remake if only to see how much more effective it would be if taken in a different direction.
*= It’s a play on the title of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.
